‘Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined’ exemplifies the wonderful performers of the two-man show

By Teagan Warren

Twenty One Pilots (often stylized as TØP) released their first album in 2009. In 2015, their popularity exploded with the release of “Blurryface,” particularly with their songs “Stressed Out” and “Ride.” Their music, discussing the topic of mental health extensively, has served as an encouragement for many hurting audiences.

A unique aspect of this two-man show (consisting of Tyler Joseph as lead singer and multi-instrumentalist and Josh Dun as drummer) is the depth of the story they tell. The story is not only told through the music, but through cryptic details through music videos, social media posts and even clues left on their website. With their unique audience engagement, it is easy to see how they have come to build such a strong fanbase.

“Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined” depicts the two bandmates and friends performing during the Clancy World Tour. The “Clancy” album is their fourth addition to the lore (the story concluded last year with the fifth addition to the lore with the album “Breach”). During this world tour, they performed in a stadium on February 20, 2025, before 65,000 fans in Mexico City.

I appreciated the use of black and white filming when separating from the concert for a moment. Every time the concert returned to the screen, the viewer had more context for what Joseph and Dun were thinking about the concert.

Mexico City proved to be an incredible audience. Fans of TØP will attest to how there is a community among the fandom, and the manner in which the filmmakers integrate the audience into the filming makes the community palpable. Somehow, the filmmakers made the scenes of the audience holding out their phones to film the special experience to be very beautiful. 

Before coming to the film, I honestly was not quite sure how much I would enjoy it. I don’t recall having seen a concert-film before, and it seemed odd to me to go to a theater to watch a concert. Why not just go to the concert? However, I was blown away. The energy, colors and sounds were bold. For the majority of the film, I had goosebumps.

Regrettably, I have never attended a Twenty One Pilots concert, only hearing about the incredible shows they put on from secondhand accounts. Yet, after watching this film, I had to wonder if watching the film was even more incredible. The cameras captured the scenes with such clarity and careful selection. 

The movie title stems from the fact that their work became so much larger than they could have ever imagined. Joseph talks about how, early on, he imagined very limited popularity—hosting a concert of 1,000 people, with little travel. He never would have imagined performing in front of 65,000 fans.

Included in the film are some of the classic Tyler, Joseph and Josh Dun moments that have helped to draw in fans. As dramatic as their music is, they prove to be just two regular guys in a lot of ways, with the closing of the film demonstrating their exhaustion after this particular show.

Timothy Shumaker, Cedarville University graduate of 2010, spoke about his experience filming for the movie. Living in Columbus for the past seven years, he had the opportunity to continue his film career after graduation. He spoke about how Twenty One Pilots, being from Columbus, Ohio, aim to support the local community by their choice of their hirees. 

He originally worked with Twenty One Pilots on their 2020 livestream concert during COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, he had a connection with Nathan Bielski, who served as one of the producers for “More Than We Ever Imagined.”

Working as a camera assistant with the Columbus crew, his team of 15 specialized in the black and white moments happening before the concert and interviews, while the Mexican crew specialized in the front of house filming. A silent communication was carried out among the crew members, as they obeyed a boss while also practiced their experienced craft, communicating with the other camera team while carrying out their work.

“It was really cool to me to see how on the same page the entire crew was and how much passion everybody had for it. It didn’t feel like a project we were creating for somebody else; it felt like something we were all creating for ourselves,” Shumaker said.

The filmmakers did an excellent job of capturing the excellent showmanship of Twenty One Pilots showing their humor, passion for music and love for their fans. As TØP has concluded the storyline shown through “Blurryface” to “Breach,” fans have the opportunity to reflect on the journey with Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun in this film.

Streaming availability has not been announced for “Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined”

Teagan Warren is a senior psychology major who enjoys advocating for Twenty One Pilot’s underrated self-titled album. She struggled to figure out if singing in the movie theater is socially acceptable for a concert film.

Images Courtesy of Trafalgar Releasing.